Can You Fix Focus Breathing?

Focus breathing is a common problem that many cinematographers face on a regular basis and despite it being common and prevalent, it can certainly be frustrating. Some are more bothered by focus breathing than others. If this sounds like you, then you’ve probably wondered, “Can You Fix Focus Breathing?” and if so, HOW?

What is Focus Breathing?

In order to solve a problem, you must first get to the root of it and understand what the main problem is. So, what is focus breathing anyway?  Focus breathing is what happens when your lens appears to be changing focus zooming in or out from one extreme to another as a result of movement.

Focus breathing is seen through the viewfinder when you are looking through and notice that the focal length appears as if it is zooming in or out ever so slightly.

Focus breathing can be a real problem for filmmakers and it’s kind of hard to avoid. So, when you ask, “Can You Fix Focus Breathing?” The short answer is – sort of, but it’s not easy, and it may require changing cameras.

Essentially, focus breathing occurs when the focus of the camera is supposed to gradually go from far away such as infinity to very close such as the minimum focal distance (MFD).

As you’re refocusing on the scene, if the composition of the shot changes at all, the video will look choppy and poorly produced. 

To avoid problems, filmmakers use lenses that have lower or less focus breathing. When changing focus on a subject, the distance from the camera and the individual lens elements must realign in order to keep the distance stable.

At times, the internal lens elements may move and attempt to get the desired focus, the composition of the frame then changes and focus breathing occurs.

Fixing Focus Breathing

Zoom lenses are more likely to suffer from focus breathing than other types of lenses, so your first fix for focus breathing is to avoid zoom lenses if possible.

As you continue to wonder, “Can you fix focus breathing?” another solution is to use a camera that is built for filmmaking specifically, but that can be expensive.

Fixing focus breathing can sometimes be accomplished by adding a bit of distances between the lens and the camera sensor in order to minimize the problem. Adding extension tubes to bring the focus closer and minimize the “breathing” of the lens is the best solution, but this solution is not without fail.

Extension tubes also have problems as they are unable to focus at infinity which means you should only use extension tubes if you intend to use a lens that is at the longest possible focal length but is focusing on the closest subject. 

Kind of confusing, right? You’ll get the hang of it! As you learn more about answering the common question, “Can you fix focus breathing?” consider this and other solutions that can help to limit the lens breathing that is occurring without causing other negative side effects for you.

Or perhaps, you’ve never noticed lens focus breathing before and solutions like this never even came to mind?